Woah...Expensive Crocheted Dress, But NICE NICE NICE :D

My friend in Australia e-mailed me today saying that she was in a coffee shop and saw this in October's Marie Claire. It's a crocheted dress made up of granny squares by a brand called Romance, and costs $3600 Aus!!! Oh. My. God...That is a lot for some granny squares, but it is nice! It's so cute and shabby chic, and I think the photo was taken in London using Chanel model Edyta Zajac, who makes any item of clothing look cool! This picture has inspired me to make some weird and wonderful equivalent, although I don't know if I could ever wear it and get away with it unfortunately :( Although Halloween is coming up soon! *Sigh*...x

My Accessories Are Soon To Be Featured...

I'm really excited because some of my "creations" are going to be featured on Beagleisdead.com Clothing and Accessories. I can't wait to see them up there :D
Keep an eye out! xxx
www.beagleisdead.com

I Just Can't Stop Knitting Flowers...

Here's my new addition to the ever-growing flower family. It's a red and yellow flower that's oh-so-cute! Now..do I use it as a hairclip, a hairband, a brooch or a keyring? I can't decide! Looks like I'll have to make more! :D x

My Name's Laura...And I'm Addicted To Tea!

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear! Look at what I pulled out of the cupboard! Pretty much everytime I go to the supermarket, I buy some MORE tea! I even bring tea back from holidays! It's getting beyond a joke now- when i took it all outside to take a photo, I filled 2 carrier bags full (and I didn't even bother bringing out the boxes of builder's tea and Earl Grey I've got lurking around at the back of the cupboard!) What a sorry (but also very happy) sight! Realistically, I know it's not a habit I'm willing to put an end to, as I really do love tea, so I'll just have to keep on taking photos!!! There'll be plenty more to come! ;)

My New-Old Knitting Books!

There's nothing better than a 'vintage' knitting book- straight out of the 80s and look what I managed to find all from one place! I am sooo lucky! I bought them from a market stall and spent about half an hour rifling through the knitting section (to the dismay of the old lady running the stall, who was convinced that young people don't enjoy knitting and automatically assumed I was stealing from the charity stall!)...I went back the following week and she was super super helpful (feeling guilty perhaps!?)
Anyway, I love them- and so does my dog (who is sporting a fabulous leopard print collar) he's so gorgeous!! <3

Using The Food Dehydrator To Make Pot Pourri...

Will this work? We shall have to see!

I decided to use my food dehydrator to dry out some flowers and make pot pourri. I have no idea how long it will take or what it will turn out like, but I have faith! I'm intending to put some essential oil on them after they're completely dried out, and keep them in a jar for a while to make sure they're nice and smelly! So they're going in, and I'm flicking the switch! Wish me luck and pray I don't burn the house down!

Flowery Slippers For A Friend <3

What do you get for your friend's 29th B'day when you're broke as a joke and have too much spare time on your hands? You make a pair of flowery slippers! Well...that's what I did anyway! Along with a homemade cake, some balloons and a ginormous piratey card..YARRR!

I hope she liked them- she seemed to and has been wearing them ever since Saturday---Thank goodness she has no laminate flooring in her house though, or she'd go flying!!!

I'm So Ashamed!

I e-mailed one of my friends in Japan to show them a picture of my onigiri. I got an instant reply, with a photo of their bento box!!! It is absolutely amazing, and puts me completely to shame!! I love it and would feel so bad eating such a fabulous piece of art, but I bet it tastes SO GOOD! Next time I'm over there, I'm definitely gonna be asking for a few lessons!

Yummy Yummy, I'm So Hungry!

So when my Japanese friends came to stay, they brought sushi rice, seaweed, mirin, and green tea and all other exciting bits and bobs, and we made sushi together. It seemed a bit odd eating raw fish in England, but it tasted SO good! When they left, they gave me the left over sushi rice and seaweed, and I decided to make cute little onigiri characters, and of course- I had to make Hello Kitty!

Space Invaders Hairband In Progress

For some reason, I really enjoy making hairbands- maybe it's because they're small and fairly quick to make, and I'm impatient and just want to finish everything straight away! But I really like this space invaders theme :D I think it's more of a winter thing- like an alternative to ear muffs, but I'm really looking forward to it being cold enough to wear every single piece of knitted clothing I've ever made! I better get cracking on my unfinished socks then!!!

My First Sock In Progress!

I've never knitted socks before, but my dad's girlfriend bought a sock knitting kit for when she went on her last holiday. Before she went away, she showed it to her mum who laughed in her face and said "YOU---knit socks!? I don't think you've got the patience- I wouldn't bother taking that on holiday with you- it'll be thrown in the pool on the first day!" so guess who got asked..."Can you make me these socks please?"...Yep, you guessed it- yours truly! I've been on YouTube trying to work out how on earth I'm going to do it, especially as I've gone through my whole knitting existence never touching double pointed needles before!! SO this is my sock in progress. I'm using a bog standard acrylic yarn until I get the hang of it it--THEN I'm moving onto the good stuff!!!...In the meantime...Any help!!? x

Barbie Hat...

Barbie looked a bit bare- she needed something to give her new dress a bit of oomph- and what's better than a new hat! It's like a slouch hat / beanie / bobble hat / tea cozy / beret all mushed into one :D I matched the bobble to her boots to complete the look! ;)

Friendship Bracelet...

My friend from Tokyo just came to stay with me, and she asked me if there was anything I wanted her to bring from Japan, so I requested a Kumihimo disc. I hadn't got a clue how to use it, and the instructions were all in Japanese- eek! But I got on the trusty internet and watched some tutorials and gave it a go. Now I can use it, I absolutely love it! It's so theraputic- I can just sit watching TV or a movie and make bracelet after bracelet after bracelet...

Poppy Brooch

As I mentioned in a previous post, I made the Flowery Bumble Bee Tote Bag for my dad's girlfriend's birthday, but I also made her this poppy brooch. She's been wanting a knitted flower brooch for ages and after countless shameless hints I decided to give her one for her birthday. She was really happy with it and is going to wear it to work as soon as she gets back off holiday :D

Cute Little Pony Sat Nav Cover

My GPS takes a bit of a battering as I usually park up and shove it in my bag and take it wherever I go instead of leaving it in the car, but I didn't have a case for it, so it was getting a bit worse for wear :( In an attempt to look after my belongings a bit better, I knitted this cute little pony cover for it. It was the first time I've changed colour in the middle of a row (I've tried many times before but failed miserably) and I am really keen to try a bit of fair isle knitting now! I still need to work on the tension as I think I pulled the floats a bit too tight, but I'm proud for a first attempt, and it serves a good purpose! :D

Barbie's New Outfit!

I know it's summer, and Barbie might get a little bit hot in this ensemble, but come on now, it's England- you can always use a knitted outfit in summer! So here's one for Barbie :D I'm on my way to finishing a purple little pleated number so I can have a whole army of Barbies in knitted dresses :D

Flowery Bumble Bee Tote Bag :D

It was my dad's girlfriend's birthday at the weekend and she loves anything handmade and unique, which is fantastic news for me as it gives me free reign to get crafting! So I made this bag for her, which she loved when I gave it to her. I was pleased and relieved, as when I asked my boyfriend what he thought, he said "ummm.....it's different?!" -I had no idea idea if that was a good different or a bad different as he wouldn't divulge any more!! I made the red knitted bow just to satisfy my addiction, and cute little flowers which I stitched on. What I love the most is the little bumble bee at the top- I attatched him on a string of white glittery fimo beads that I'd made especially for the job!! She's going on holiday to Fuerta Ventura today for a couple of weeks and has promised me she'll take it with her. I've promised her that if it falls apart, I'll stitch it back up! Haha!

My Finger Knitted Bracelet :D

I JUST learnt to finger knit and it is SO fun! I made this bracelet out of scrap yarn and think it looks really cool. I think I am going to attatch some ribbon at the back so I can tie it in a bow. I won't be able to stop finger knitting now, but it's such a good thing to learn for going on holiday as you can't even take plastic knitting needles on a plane, so now I can stick my two yarn-covered fingers up at all airline companies and knit happily on board WITHOUT my needles!

Keyring Betty...

Look at Keyring Betty! Isn't she cute! She was a bit of an accident really (don't let her know that) - I started knitting a cheese sandwich and ended up sidetracking to make Betty! She's not yet been attatched to a keyring- but she will be by the end of the day, mwahaha...chained for eternity to my car keys! All hail Keyring Betty...! More of her geometrical family to come! x

I'm Addicted To Knitting Bows!

I keep on knitting bows and I can't stop! It's an addiction that just can't be cured! I'm making bow hairclips, bow keyrings, bow hanging mobiles, bow badges, bow curtain ties, and a giant bow for my curtain pelmet. I just love bows! Bows bows bows!

Phone Case :D

I had a boring black phone case which came with my phone- but it was just that- BOOOORING!...So I made this one- originally, I started knitting with black and was going to make rainbow stripes, but I changed my mind halfway through and undid it all in an "I don't like this!" kind of frenzy. And I'm really glad I did, because I love the end result- I really like the colours together and I even managed to find some matching light blue polka dot ribbon for the draw string :D

Hey Ho! Let's Go!

Woooh! My Joey Ramone doll is finished- and what a stunner he is! This is the first doll I've made and I think I'm addicted now! At first, I put a bit too much stuffing in, but I took a lot of it out again- I wanted him to look as tall and skinny as he was in real life!
Now....I might try knitting him a groupy!

My Big 'Ol iPod Case...

I was fed up of my iPod getting scratched and bashed about, so I decided to make a case for it. Like I've said before, I love anything gaudy, so this is perfect for me! It's purple with an oversized yellow knitted bow. Since finishing this one, I decided my phone might need a little case too!! So I'm on my way to completing a lilac and red one. I'll upload photos when I've finished :D

It's Not Easy Being Green...

I recently made this purple and white bag. It's about the same size as a tote bag, so it's REALLY handy for actually carrying things in. Because it's a bit bigger than the bags I usually make, I made sure the strap was extra strong by using cord bound in the same colour wool I'd been using. I also lined it with white fabric for extra strength- this bad boy is so strong now, I can cram in my weekly shop, and the only thing that'll break is my shoulder! It's not easy being green you know! *Sigh*

My Little Purple Bag...

I made this handbag because I found this button in my collection and wanted to use it on something cute. I thought the button looks kind of 1940s ish and I didn't want to waste it! (It's a pearlescant flower shape). I thought about putting it on a little purse, but I changed my mind as I thought it would look better on a bag. I lined the inside with a lilacy coloured fabric to make it a bit stronger (I pack a lot into my handbags, so they really do need to be made of strong stuff to hold all of my junk!!!)

My "Car-Crash" Blanket...

This is my first blog (about me), and I'm a little nervous about putting photos of what I've made online- you never think your own stuff is any good, but I've had fun making these things, so that's all that matters!
I love bright, clashing colours- basically anything that's gaudy! The gaudier the better- if I could find some pink ornamental flamingoes I'd definitely put them outside my house!
Anyway, I started making this blanket a couple of years ago. I had a pretty bad car crash and couldn't go to uni or work as I was at home recovering for a while, so I picked up my crochet hook and had a go. The middle is a bit wonky, but to be honest, at the time, I didn't really know what I was doing! I'm more of a knitter than a crocheter, but it got bigger faster than if I knitted it, so it helped to keep me sane!!! I pushed it to the back of the cupboard for a while, and after moving house, I decided I might add to it! I might keep going and see if I can make it as big as I can- possibly the size of my house to keep me nice and warm!! I <3 my blanket :D